Available
treatments
Chiropractic treatment and techniques vary tremendously depending on the patients age, physicality, infirmity, tolerance, stage of convalescence, goals of treatment, response to treatment and even day to day with the same individual. To see basic techniques utilized by Dr. Castilloux click TECHNIQUES AVAILABLE at the top or bottom of each page.
Auto Accidents
Hundreds of studies and books are dedicated to this topic and for good reason. Auto accident can end your life, ruin your life or just ruin your day. While cars are getting safer, the human frame is not. Car accidents can and often do change your life causing injuries which are unseen and often delayed in their symptomatic onset. Insurance companies recognize the true nature of auto accidents and will be there for you early on while the causality is clear. Even if you think you are not injured by a car accident, chances are you were and the symptoms are delayed. Seek out a MD immediately for stomach pain or problems swallowing following an accident as it may be due to internal injury. Seek out a DC if you experience dizziness, headaches, neck or low back pain. A referral may be indicated before treatment begins. If you or someone you know developes any of the following symptoms hours to weeks following a car accident, again seek out a Chiropractor as these are usually best addressed by physical medicine.
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Rib, shoulder, mid back, hip or knee pain
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Difficulty sleeping
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Fatigue and listlessness
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Memory loss
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Concentration and focus problems
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Changes in appetite
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Mood swings
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Personality changes
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Difficulty controlling your emotions or responses
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Loss of interest in what you have always enjoyed doing
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Difficulty at work physical or just coping
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Lack of motivation
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Burning or tingling in fingers
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Burning or tingling of the front outside of the thighs
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Vertigo
Car accident victims have many concerns following an accident. Job, transportation, income, and these concerns often lead to bad decisions. After 39 years and hundreds of cases, several things are clear to me. Ignoring symptoms in the hope they will go away is a tragic mistake, taking medication to cover up symptoms is also a tragic mistake long term. Getting massage (only), while initially very helpful in coping with life's demands, is only slightly better long term than medicine or doing nothing. All three will leave significant permanent partial disabilities which will decrease the quality of life going forward. The best care which is based on numerous out come assessment studies is a combination of Chiropractic and physical therapy. Both Chiropractic and physical therapy on their own give good convalescence but the combination of both gives the best results 2 and 5 years post accident. Do your own research and you will discover this to be true. Additionally for reasons related to faulty biomechanics the order of that combination of treatments is Chiropractic first for 3-6 weeks then physical therapy with continued Chiropractic treatment on a decreasing frequency. The length of total treatment varies but it is generally 4-6 months for mild to moderate viscosity accidents. Oh and one more thing. There will be permanent partial disabilities in nearly all cases so the goal for your treatment should be to feel better than before the car accident as residuals usually return to some degree after treatment ends. Basically take it seriously or regret it later.
It should come as no surprise that Chiropractic treatment on the growing spine can have profound benefits. Lateral curvatures of the spine known as scoliosis can be very difficult to consistently see good results in adults. The success rate in growing children however tends to be much higher. Especially in the absence of spinal anomalies, so if you child has scoliosis, the earlier the better. While scoliosis in a growing child is often a problem seen in a Chiropractic office it afflicts only 3-5% of Americans. Crossed syndromes on the other hand afflict nearly half of adolescence and approximately 30% of adults. This is due to the repetitive nature of most jobs in adults and the advent of endless hours on electronic games etc. with our adolescences.
Upper and lower crossed syndromes are found in epidemic proportions here in the US. In fact it's the most common issue which slows recovery and perpetuates the need for routine treatments to prevent symptoms from returning. Crossed syndromes however are seldom addressed in Chiropractic offices. I was lucky enough to meet a DC who addressed my lower crossed syndrome and gave me back my vitality. Crossed syndromes are best addressed in corrective care but after my experience, I make it a point to instruct every patient who has a crossed syndrome on how we can work as a team to make sure we aren't simple chasing symptoms. Chiropractors are not meant to be expensive aspirins.
Family care incorporates everything the public associates with Chiropractic offices, from acute pain relief for a recent injury to maintenance. It also includes treatments for the laundry list of the usual suspects, head aches, neck, shoulder, mid and low back issues. If it's quick and easy to fix, it's usually a family practice issue. Serious issues requiring extensive care or patients wanting to maximize their human potential, should consider corrective care
Family PRACTICE
Corrective Care
Corrective care is not your average Chiropractic treatment nor are the goals. Normally Chiropractic treatment are either convalescent or maintenance. Therefore the frequency and duration is minimal toward those goals. Corrective care is more akin to orthodontics for the spine with out the benefit of the braces. Full spine xrays are utilized to establish the condition of the spine and to identify the degree and precise locations of spinal lesions both segmental and regional. Again, this is not the typical bone A is misaligned with bone B subluxation only type of treatment approach. This is about maximizing the potential of an individual's nervous system and their potential to heal. Treatment frequency is high, usually 3 times per week for the first 3-4 months or as indicated as the benefits of one treatment to the next are not consistently accumulative beyond 48 hours. The treatment protocol is centered around correcting a patient to gravity while normalizing A P curves and reducing any lateral deviations from plum. Corrective care utilizes both segmental and regional techniques initially during the symptom phase but after symptoms abate, usually around 2-3 weeks, the treatment becomes predominately regional. Regional work is about correcting whole sections of the spine to one another and to proper gravitational alignment. The main regional techniques utilized is Chiropractic Biophysics - Chiropractic Biophysics is a technique utilizing blocks, wedges, and specific positioning of a patient before drop work is utilized for the corrections. This technique is primary in the correction to gravity and to ideal curvatures utilizing mirror image preloading. This technique has a powerful systemic effect on the nervous system. Next is Pierce Stillwagon - Pierce Stillwagon is a technique utilizing specific positioning of a patient's head and neck before drop work is utilized to restore the proper curvature to the cervical spine. Finally Axial traction release when indicated - Axial traction release is done by hand or with appliances to axially stretch and or release the joints of a region, usually the cervical region. This mainly targets the discs in a region and is a valuable technique for patients with moderate to severe osteoarthritis where osteophytes prevent normal segmental adjusting. It is also valuable when plateauing occurs or in cases where normal convalescence is not being realized.
Corrective care is not a one shoe fits all. For major systemic challenges you are certainly looking at long term care but there are several conditions which often require treatment beyond what your insurance carrier wants to pay for. Crossed syndromes as discussed in the Family Practice section are amongst this group. There are also the secondary conditions resulting from crossed syndrome including but not limited to numb hands, loss of grip, carpal tunnel syndromes, chronic shoulder pain, thoracic outlet syndromes, lumbar facet syndrome, lack of an ideal lordotic curve in the cervical or lumbar regions, and meralgia paresthetica. These conditions may warrant corrective care of shorter duration.
Food for thought, with a clear functioning nervous system the body can better see what it needs to correct The result - with each new tissue turn over (approximately 90 days) systemic changes can be realized. Based on my experience the real surprises in unexpected improvements in non targeted chronic conditions usually occur around 12 months. The list of infirmities patients have reported recovery from or infirmities I have witnessed with my patients who chose corrective care is staggering. The reason is simple and profound so pay attention as you need to get this straight in your mind. Only your body can heal itself; no doctor and no drug can do that. Chiropractic works because it removes interference from delicate nerves along the spine so the body can self observe, self regulate and heal. It’s that simple. That is why Chiropractic impacts such a wide ranged of conditions.
Is corrective care for you? Before you decide consider the fact that no insurance company ever knowing wants to pay for corrective Chiropractic care. So consider the costs, time and effort - then decide.